Did a little substitute teaching this morning at a local high school ( Go Toros! ) Think you are a good presenter? Go volunteer at your local high school. If they're not interested, they don't even pretend to be.

As part of the lesson I played a game with the kids. I made some motions with a stick, tapped it on the ground a few times and asked the kids to guess the word I was thinking. Of course, none of them could (the word was hat). I then gave one student in the class the "decoding ring" to make sense of my stick motions and senseless babbling and sent her out of the room while the rest of the class picked a new word. The student with the secret was now easily able to "guess" the word. The really interesting thing that occured was that after a few rounds other students began to figure out the code. Their reaction was always the same, they shouted "Oh I got it!" and immediately wanted to tell the world. The first student that was given the code never had the same reaction.

Here is the principle (based on purely non-scientific data): people are more excited to share that which they "discover." In fact, you have to work hard to keep them from sharing. It was all I could do to get the "discoverers" to sit still and keep it secret. After all, what fun is discovering something if you have no one to share it with?

Do you let your customers discover anything?

What? Are you saying I shouldn't shout everything I have to offer to my potential customers?

Exactly. In-N-Out Burger is a master of this. They have an entire "secret menu" that you cannot find anywhere in any In-N-Out store nor on their website , but it is part of their process. The items are in their point of sale system and print out on the receipt.

What good is a secret menu? Have any third parties ever created web pages dedicated to your menu? You can read about In-N-Out's here , here , and here and several hundred other places. Oh, and you can download a pdf version of it (complete with pictures) here. Ever met somebody that loves In-N-Out? They've got the secret menu memorized and will describe every option for you. They've discovered something and can't wait to share.

So, what are your customers going to discover today?

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The average American consumer discusses brands 56 times a week. Are they discussing yours? Learn more

Leave it to Google to come up with a game that people are telling their friends about to help them tag pictures. Give it a try and while you are at it--anything fun you can invite your customers to do and talk about?

From Other Business Blogs

Number 3-- Consumer Idealised Design. from the Club of Amsterdam via Putting People First.
Speaking of inviting your customers, some good ideas here for getting "startling new desires or concepts" from your customers rather than just a list of what they don't like. It is a long read, but worth the effort.

Number 2--High Performance Organizational Cultures from Be Excellent.
Nothing new here, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded of what a high performance culture looks like. The challenge on this one is not knowing, but putting into practice consistently even in the stress of making deadlines etc....

It seems Google might be doing something similar to label images they have indexed.

Here is how it works. You push a button and get paired up with a partner. A 90 second timer starts and you each are shown the same picture. You type in as many descriptions as you can. As soon as you have a description that matches you are shown another image. Each image you match is worth 100 points. At the end you can even hover your mouse over the images and see what your partner guessed.

I think it is brilliant. Not only are they getting free work from people, but they are discovering what people really think when they see an image. Oh yea, it is also fun.

Think of your business, is there a fun way you could get feedback from your customers helping you whitewash your fence?

(By the way my current record is 900 points in 90 seconds)

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You work hard to make sure your customers are happy. Don't waste happy customers. How easy is it for your customers to share with their friends? Learn more

So this morning I was scheduled to give a presentation on how to create word-of-mouth using Promoterz to new Entrees Made Easy franchise owners. While the participants were on break and I was getting my laptop set up a discussion about coffee got started. I think it started with a person asking if there was more coffee. There was. She wanted hers dark. Another person overheard and said, "Oh, you've got to try my coffee!"

"Your coffee?"

"Yeah, it's just down the street. The guy is a chemist and has traveled the world to find the best beans. You know how there is a burnt after-taste with some roasted coffee?"

Everyone nods in unison. By now there were seven people listening intently (yes, I counted them.) I was listening too, and I don't even drink coffee.

"Well this guy figured out a way to roast it so that it has no after taste."

"Oh, where is this place? We're going there tomorrow."

What a perfect lead in to a presentation about the power of word of mouth! Notice how the happy customer started the conversation by referring to it as "my coffee." There is a customer that feels like she is a part of something great and is not only willing, but excited to share.

You can't buy better advertising. Are your customers that excited about your business?

Full disclosure: I'm not being paid to write this and I wouldn't know what a good cup of coffee tastes like. But, here are the details: It is called The Village Coffee Roastery and is located in Scottsdale, AZ. Here is a review from a local paper and here is their website . Looks like you can order online! Tell them Lisa sent you...

A couple of great blogs highlighted Promoterz this week (and yes, we thought they were great before they mentioned us--now we think they are even greater).

Steve Rucinski at Small Business CEO , picked up on the Promoterz multiplying effect that enables a business owner to develop relationships with a lot more customers than they could on their own. You can read it here . Steve's blog does a great job of providing resources and knowledge to help the Small Business CEO.

Organizations that want to increase sales and visibility by creating buzz and word of mouth use Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing . Buzzoodle helps them energize and focus their advocates while measuring and improving upon the buzz created. Ron McDaniel, also known as Buzzoodle Ron, is the force behind Buzzoodle and has a blog dedicated to better understanding buzz and word of mouth. Here is Ron's post about Promoterz.

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Promoterz is the hands-free, word-of-mouth marketing service that takes care of the details so you can focus on business. Learn more

We search the business blog world looking for posts that illustrate principles, or "Seeds", that if followed, or "planted", will help small businesses grow. We list them here for your convenience. Enjoy.

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After describing modern consumers and their desire to watch or read what they want, when they want, the current issue of Business Week concludes:
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I read recently about a musician--a cello player to be exact--that moved to New York City. She didn't know anyone in the city and was looking for opportunities to play her cello. Her solution? She ...more.

I read a great article recently about George Washington. As I read about his amazing leadership characteristics it occurred to me that they are the same characteristics any entrepreneur or business l ...more.

On the company the effect is like being assimilated into the Borg, but for users of their software it's like having a friend with a malignant brain tumor. You're going to have to say "goodbye" soon t ...more.

What says summer more than traveling carnivals? Cotton candy, hot dogs, rides that go around and around until you puke! Does life get any better than that? I submit that it cannot!
The blog worl ...more.

Remarkable is the key here. These native american kids are remarkable in and of themselves. Their product follows suit. They have figured out government issues, food serving issues, product, marketi ...more.

In the cluttered marketplace we compete in, I don't think the power (and necessity) of staying in touch can be overemphasized. I learned the lesson again last week--thankfully in a good way. It had ...more.